Black Richard's Heart (The MacCulloughs #1) - Suzan Tisdale Page 0,16
top of her head barely made it to the center of his chest.
Dismissing thoughts of the physical, he took her hand and placed it in the crook of his arm. He felt it tremble with her short intake of breath. Though the question begged to be asked be it fear or excitement that makes ye tremble so, he kept it to himself.
“We have an announcement to make,” he told her. He didn’t know what else to say or do to put her mind at ease. Without uttering another word he led her into the gathering room.
Those who had been sitting jumped to their feet. David, who had been leaning against the hearth, stood to his full height.
Black Richard looked at the faces staring back at him. There was something in Garrin MacRay’s eyes that he could not readily identify. Aye, there was disgust and contempt, but he had the oddest sensation ’twas not directed at him, but at Aeschene. Aeschene’s brother’s faces held the same dark look. However, those were directed entirely at Black Richard.
When he turned his gaze back to Garrin, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
“Have ye somethin’ to tell us?” David asked, breaking the silence.
Black Richard glowered back at Garrin. “I will have her and she will have me.”
He will have me.
Aeschene felt her heart flutter with his words. Mayhap ’twas the deep timbre of his voice or the way he held her hand protectively in the crook of his arm, that gave her comfort and hope. No matter the reason, she could deny neither sensation.
Comfort and hope.
How long had it been since she had felt anything other than lonely or less or unworthy?
Nay, she scolded her heart. Ye cannae be thinkin’ that way about a man ye have only just met.
Believing this was nothing more than a lonely heart giving in to that which it desired most, she tried valiantly to push the thought of comfort and hope aside.
For once she was glad she could not see, could not look into his eyes. For there, she knew she would find the cold hard truth of the matter. His agreement to marry her had absolutely not a thing to do with her as a person. Nay, ’twas not more than a means to an end. He was simply marrying her because the king dictated it. While she had given him the choice, they both knew it would only be a matter of time before both clans lost everything.
His sacrifice, she believed, was a glimpse into his heart. Would a monster care what happened to his people? Would a monster give up the chance of marrying someone he loved in order to marry the daughter of his enemy just to secure peace? Nay, she reasoned, a monster would do none of those things.
Were he truly the wicked, cold, black-hearted beast as described in the stories, he would not have even bothered showing up this day. Or, had he braved it, he would have turned around and fled the moment she gave him the choice.
But he did neither of those things. Instead, he chose the most honorable route; he chose her. Only a good man would have.
His promise to never lock her away, to allow her to walk freely about the keep and lands, meant more to her than his promise never to beat her. Aye, she could withstand a beating well enough. ’Twas the thought of being hidden away for the rest of her life that terrified her most. I’d rather be beaten in front of his entire clan than to be forgotten.
Aeschene made a promise to herself then and there. She would be the best wife she could to Black Richard MacCullough. There would be naught she wouldn’t do to be held in his high esteem, to make him like her. To make him forget about all her imperfections and shortcomings.
Love was out of the question; Love was too much to ever hope for.
Just when he had made his mind up to marry her, he couldn’t rightly say. But made it he had.
The MacRays did not look happy with the news. Black Richard wasn’t certain if David had told any of them that he had given Aeschene a choice. At the moment, he didn’t care. She was going to be his wife. Just seeing the look of fury in Garrin MacRay’s eyes was enough to help cement his decision. Garrin’s fury was an added bonus.